A Companion's Bride
by ghostanimal
Summary: Oneshot: On their wedding day, Vilkas cannot but help but marvel at the beauty that is his bride. VilkasxDragonborn


**Disclaimer: I only own a copy of Skyrim.**

**Summary: On their wedding day, Vilkas cannot but help but marvel at the beauty that is his bride.  
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**Rating: K+  
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**Inspiration: I'm a total tomboy. I never wear a dress, rarely throw some make-up on and my hair is just a ponytail. I'm always dirty because I play around with the boys on the field instead of sitting on the benches and gossiping with my female friends. I had to dress up for a semi-formal event, so I did my hair, got really clean and put on make-up and a dress. My best friend was completely surprised, so surprised that he couldn't really form any real compliment until we got to our location. The compliment was "I don't have any words to express how beautiful you look tonight." He's also editor in chief of his school yearbook, so it's not like he's bad with words.  
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**Pairings: VilkasxDragonborn ; Sorry, I wanted to do Cicero, but I really couldn't figure out how to write him in such a mushy fashion without making him go all out of character.  
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**Warnings: No Cicero :( And overemotional priest.  
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**Other Notes:  
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Vilkas shifted from foot to foot. He felt uncomfortable. Not exactly dressed in fancy wedding robes, but he did dress in nice clothing, free of holes and tears. Scrubbed and ironed by Tilma. Said caretaker even helped him comb his hair and smell nice for the occasion.

He hadn't seen his bride-to-be in nearly two days, on insistence of wedding customs. The Companion didn't want much of a fuss over a wedding. A wedding wasn't that big of a deal, it was the lifetime that they would spend together that was important. A quick little ceremony in the Temple of Mara. But one look in her deep blue eyes, and he immediately agreed to let her plan a small celebration. With the eager help of the other Companion women, his Dragonborn bride had a small celebration in Solitude, where the Emperor's cousin was going to be married later that year. Jarl Elisif greatly encouraged her friend to have her wedding there.

All the Companions, of course, were invited. Everybody in Solitude was free to attend the wedding of Harbringer/Dragonborn and her husband-to-be. A few other highly respected men and women had traveled to witness the union. Off the top of his head, Vilkas could name Maven Black-Briar and the Jarl of Whiterun was to be in attendance.

He looked around at the work Tilma and Ria put into decorating. It looked very nice. Since it _was_ the Dragonborn's wedding, many things were given free of charge or for a discount. The cake and a huge portion of the food was made by the Gourmet himself for a wonderful discount, the supplies having been provided for free.. His clothing and her dress was made for free by Radiant Raiment.

"You ready to be a married man?" his twin and best man teased. Vilkas smiled at his brother. He too, had actually cleaned up.

"Been ready since the day I saw her Amulet of Mara," he confessed. "Although honestly, I don't see the big deal with a fancy ceremony."

"Guess it's one of those girl things," was the reply, accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders. "Least it was pretty cheap. Plus, you're marrying Holly. She's the Dragonborn, and Harbringer."

"Yes, but I love Holly because she's Holly. Not because she's Dragonborn or Harbringer," Vilkas said honestly.

"If you showed your romantic side more, and your grumpy side less, you would have married a long time ago," Aela teased. Vilkas rolled his eyes at her. She was in a simple blue dress, matching the other Companion women's. His bride picked them as her bridesmaids.

"What are you doing here?" Vilkas wondered.

"I thought that in order to have a wedding, we needed a bride and a groom," she replied with sarcasm. "Come on, Holly's ready for you."

Vilkas glared at her, but the twins followed her. Everybody got the sense of urgency and rushed to their seats or their positions in the stood next to him, shifting impatiently.

"What do you think Kodlak would be thinking right now?" Vilkas wondered aloud to his brother.

"I think he'd be wondering how you got somebody so out of your league," Farkas joked. Vilkas gave a small smile. "But being serious, I think he'd be proud. In fact...I know he'd be the one to escort Holly down the isle if he were still here."

Vilkas nodded in agreement. Holly had told him her father had passed away years ago shortly after the death of her mother. In his conversations with Kodlak before his death, he spoke highly of Holly. He had quickly come to love Holly dearly as if she were his daughter.

After what felt like hours of waiting, Holly finally appeared before them. Instead of her father or Kodlak, her arm was linked with Jarl Balgruuf.

Holly had always been beautiful to Vilkas. Long blonde hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. Beautifully slender with muscle she showed off when she fought. Whenever he saw his bride, she always wore armor or pants. Her hair was always braided. Dirt always stained her skin, with the occasional sweat and blood. She loved hunting mammoths as opposed to sewing. Holly couldn't cook the mammoth's meat to save her life, but she brewed potions like a professional. When other women in Whiterun were busy looking for marriage, she was busy looking for an adventure. He never cared. She was still the same Holly that gave him quite a thrashing that first day, the same Holly he went adventuring with and the same small girl with many surprises that he felt absolutely head over heels for.

But today...

He stared in complete awe of her.

Her skin seemed to glow. She was free of all dirt, all blood, all sweat, all the things that used to stain her lovely, tanned flesh. Her hair was washed, brushed and dried into a golden bun. Vilkas had never seen her in a dress, but she was walking towards him in a traditional white wedding gown. It wasn't fancy, wasn't very expensive-looking, but she looked like a High Queen in it. It clung to her in all the right ways, showing off the curves that her armor had always hidden.

"Isn't she a doll?" Aela whispered loudly towards Vilkas. He simply nodded. The man who always had something to say, the smarter twin, the one who had the honeyed words, was completely speechless.

Holly smiled nervously at Vilkas when she now stood before him. Her eyes met his, and his heart just completely melted. Wait...was she wearing a hint of make-up? She was! Her blue eyes shone brighter from the eye make-up somebody had applied on her, her lips a brighter pink and her cheeks had a more lively, rosy touch. She broke the gaze to meet Jarl Balgruuf's look.

"Thank you for escorting me," she told him. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I consider it a very high honor to be given the privilege to walk the Dragonborn down the isle to her future husband," he told her softly with a fatherly smile before letting go of her hand and taking his seat.

"Do I look okay?" Holly asked shyly, her eyes expressing her concern for Vilkas' lack of comments. He smiled and patted her cheek.

"For once, I don't have any words to express how beautiful you look today," he told her in a hushed down so that only she could hear. Her cheeks turned a darker red, but she smiled brightly at him.

A loud sniff caught Vilkas' attention and he turned to face Maramal. The Mara priest had tears of happiness down his cheeks, making Vilkas roll his eyes. One would believe the priest himself was marrying. Holly had to ask this priest, out of all the ones that could marry them, to travel to Solitude and marry them.

"You two...," he squeaked as he choked on his words. "You two are so adorable! Mara is certainly very present in this relationship!"

"May we be married?" Holly asked lightly, her voice teasing the priest. He nodded, wiping his tears.

"Let us begin," he decided. He cleared his throat before speaking a bit loud so that everybody could quiet down and listen. "It was Mara that first gave birth to all of creation and pledged to watch over us as her children. It is from her love of us that we first learned to love one another. It is from this love that we learn that a life lived alone is no life at all. We gather here today, under Mara's loving gaze, to bear witness to the union of two souls in eternal companionship. May they journey forth together in this life and the next, in prosperity and poverty, and in joy and hardship. Do you agree to be bound together, in love, now and forever?"

Vilkas glanced at Holly.

"I do," he said firmly. "Now and forever."

Maramal sniffed loudly, wiping more tears.

"Do you agree to be bound together, in love, now and forever?" he asked the Dragonborn, his voice shaky.

"I do." Vilkas was pleased at how firm and confident she sounded. She gave him a loving look, which he returned. "Now and forever."

"Under the authority of Mara, the Divine of Love, I declare this couple to be wed. I present to the two of you with these matching rings, blessed by Mara's divine grace. May they protect each of you in your new life together," the priest managed to tell them before choking on a loud sob. He held the rings out for the couple to take. They each took one, and gently slid the finger on their new spouse's finger.

Holly looked up at Vilkas, smiling big. She leaned forward and lightly kissed him. He kissed back a bit more deeper. But not too passionate.

That could wait for the privacy of Proudspire Manor.


End file.
